BMET's Tughlaqi Incident: Manual Exit Permit Process Halted Without Notice

Daily Bijoy News Correspondent:

The process of issuing exit permits at BMET (Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training) is being severely disrupted due to allegations of bribery involving a group of corrupt officials. The influence of some dishonest recruiting agency owners and representatives has increased, making it impossible to locate valid exit permit files for the past week. Several victims have complained that BMET's immigration officials are not moving files unless bribes are paid. Due to the extreme negligence and shortsightedness of BMET's Director General, Saleh Ahmed Mozaffar, the manual submission of exit permit files was abruptly halted on Tuesday without prior notice. As a result, thousands of workers bound for Saudi Arabia are facing severe difficulties in obtaining their exit permits.

The influence of syndicates within BMET is once again on the rise, and the situation has reached a point where no one seems to be paying attention. On Wednesday, no files were accepted for manual submission of exit permits either. Over the past two days, the exit permit process for nearly 10,000 Saudi-bound workers has been stalled. Many workers have had their flight tickets canceled and are facing financial losses. A former top official of BAIRA (Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies), speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that BMET's Director (Immigration) Mamun Mia, in collusion with Dr. Asif Nazrul, Advisor to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, and his personal assistant Sarwar Alam, has introduced various new rules to create obstacles in the issuance of exit permits. By imposing unnecessary conditions, artificial complications are being created, and exit permits are being issued in exchange for bribes ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 taka. As a result, hundreds of recruiting agencies are not receiving exit permits for Saudi-bound workers on time, leading to a crisis for them.

In protest of these irregularities and to demand an end to the bribery practices of corrupt immigration officials, hundreds of BAIRA and recruiting agency owners and representatives surrounded the office of BMET's Director General on Wednesday afternoon. Led by BAIRA's former Joint Secretary General, Md. Fakhrul Islam, BAIRA leaders held a four-hour meeting with BMET's Director General, Saleh Ahmed Mozaffar. During the meeting, they demanded that the clearance process for sending workers to Saudi Arabia and other countries be restored to its previous system. At the same time, BAIRA leaders strongly demanded the removal of Immigration Director Mamun Mia and other corrupt officials. The Director General assured them that the allegations against Mamun Mia would be investigated and appropriate action taken.

It was decided in the meeting that clearances for power of attorney and visas issued between February 1 and 24 for Saudi Arabia would be provided without embassy attestation, following the previous system. Applications will be accepted both online and offline. Additionally, a help desk will be established to provide information related to BMET clearances. The allegations against Immigration Director Mamun Mia will be investigated, and necessary steps will be taken. Staff will also be increased to expedite the translation process.

Meanwhile, Novell, the owner of Peace Overseas, a victimized agency, alleged that despite submitting files for Saudi-bound workers at BMET's immigration department on February 23, they have not received any response. He accused immigration officials Tania Taslim and Syeda Mimi Parvin of holding up files unless bribes are paid. As a result, many workers' flight tickets have been canceled, causing significant financial losses.

Jahangir Alam, owner of Shikha TED International, stated that new rules introduced for issuing exit permits to Saudi-bound workers are creating obstacles in the expansion of the labor market. He expressed optimism that the crisis would be resolved quickly in line with the decisions made during the meeting between BAIRA leaders and the Director General. He called for the withdrawal of new conditions to facilitate the Saudi labor market and boost manpower exports and remittance inflows.

Daily Bijoy News/ Junayed